Lab of Things researcher develops sensor to help those living with paralysis

Professor Nilanjan Banerjee of the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, an early adopter of Microsoft Research’s Lab of Things, has worked with a quadriplegic and other colleagues to develop a sensor that helps people with limited mobility lead more independent lives.

The sensor detects gestures and uses them to activate lights and other appliances in the home – giving users more control over their environment. The sensor can be sewn almost anything in the environment — for example, in clothing or bedding.

The year-old Lab of Things is a research platform that enables the large-scale deployment of connected devices and sensors. By providing a client-side set of components called HomeOS, the Lab of Things frees researchers from having to develop the complete software stack for deploying their experiments.